Getting started with MindMeister

Video Transcript

Thanks for choosing MindMeister. In this video tutorial we’re going to show you how easy it is to create your first mind map. We’ll start in MindMeister’s dashboard, which is the first thing you see after signing in. This is where you can create and store your mind maps and organize them into folders.
To create a new map, you click here.
This is the mind map editor. In its center, you’ll find the ‘root topic’ of your new mind map. This is where you write the title or the central idea that you’re going to be focusing on. Let’s say we want to plan a project, so we’ll call this map “Project Plan”.
From the root topic, we can now create child topics that will branch off in all directions. To create a child topic, we press the TAB key and write a keyword in the new bubble that appears. To finish, we press ENTER.
If we press ENTER once more, we’ll have created another topic. Together, these two topics are what we call ‘sibling topics’, because they’re on the same hierarchical level. We’ll call this one ‘Project Team’, and then add another few sibling topics on the same level.
Now we can go into more detail, by adding child topics to each of the main branches we’ve just created. To do this, we’ll just click on a topic and hit the TAB key again. TAB and ENTER are really the only two key shortcuts you need to quickly create a mind map.
If you make a mistake, you can always go back and re-write the text in a topic. You can also move a topic around by dragging it close to another topic, until it docks there. With BACKSPACE, you can delete the topic completely.
If you want one of the branches to stand on its own, you can simply disconnect it from the root topic via the context menu.
On the other hand, you can also add connections between topics using arrows. To do this, click on a topic, then select the connection button in the top bar. Now click on the topic you’d like to connect to the first one. You can then add a label to the connection, and change its color or shape.
So that’s how you create a mind map in MindMeister. We hope you’ll find the map editor intuitive and easy to use. Thanks for watching, and look out for our other video tutorials where we show you how to enhance your maps with colors and images, upload attachments, create mind map presentations, and lots more!